


Gorillaz Camp Camp AU

by Daddy_Clarinetist



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series), Gorillaz
Genre: 2D as David, Angst with a Happy Ending, FBI, Gen, Russel as the quartermaster, Scavenger Hunts, kind of, max is my son, murdoc as Cameron Campbell, noodle as gwen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-20
Updated: 2018-02-20
Packaged: 2019-03-21 13:18:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13741734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daddy_Clarinetist/pseuds/Daddy_Clarinetist
Summary: 2D, a counselor at Camp Campbell, was waiting for Murdoc Campbell, the founder of the camp, to drop by for the day. Things don’t go as planned.





	Gorillaz Camp Camp AU

Today was the day! 2D had been waiting for this day for weeks. The founder of Camp Campbell, Murdoc Campbell, was coming to visit. The previous week had been filled with preparations being made. Many tasks had needed to get done, but 2D somehow managed it by recruiting (forcing) the campers to help him.

  
To say that 2D looked up to Murdoc was an understatement. It was practically the biggest understatement of the century! 2D idolized the man. Ever since he was a camper at Camp Campbell, he had seen how great of a person Murdoc was. His wants and ideas for the camp were some of the best things he had ever heard. 2D desperately wanted to help make Murdoc’s dream of having the best summer camp come true.

  
So far it had turned out to be a huge failure.

  
It wasn’t 2D’s fault that the campers didn’t want to be there. It wasn’t his fault that they were constantly trying to escape. Certainly it wasn’t his fault that they seemed to be losing their minds from doing one measly camp activity. They always had such bad attitudes! They needed to see how fun camping could be! No, it was their own fault that they weren’t having the time of their lives.

  
“I hate your entire existence with the soul that I don’t have,” Max, one of the children who hated the camp, stated. Max’s two friends, Neil and Nikki, stood behind him, not seeming to care too much about what the grouchy boy had just said.

  
2D managed to keep the smile on his face, despite wanting to frown and show how much Max’s words affected him. All he wanted was for the kids to have fun. He wanted them to be happy while they were there. He just didn’t understand what he was doing wrong.

  
After making sure that the kids all looked presentable and were participating in the arts and crafts project he had set up, 2D made his way to where his cocounselor, Noodle, was. She was slouching against the far wall, obviously wishing that she could be binge watching a new show instead of listening to the screams of children.

  
“Hello Noodle!” 2D greeted, standing next to her by the wall. “Are you ready for today? Murdoc is finally coming back to camp!”

  
Noodle shook her head as 2D went on a rant about how excited he was to see the man he looked up to again. While Noodle wasn’t nearly as close to Murdoc as 2D claimed he was, and she had no desire to ever be that close to him, she knew that 2D viewed Murdoc as some kind of father figure.

  
“Do you think he’ll stay for a while this time?” 2D asked.

  
“Do you think that we’ll finally figure out why he is a wanted man this time?” Noodle countered.

  
2D ignored her question. “I hope that the campers can finally see how great our founder is! The camp would never have happened without him!”

  
“And then we would all be happier,” Max, who had heard the end of the conversation when he was walking past them, bluntly said. 2D was going to retaliate with a positive comment to try and get Max to see things his way, but the ten year old was already out the door.

  
“Shouldn’t you go after him?” Noodle asked. “All of the campers are supposed to be in here, remember?”

  
2D gasped before quickly running after the kid.

  
“Max! Please come back to the mess hall. You should be working on your crafts!” 2D pleaded with the boy once he found him.

  
Max groaned. “Why does it matter? It’s just a stupid piece of paper that will end up getting thrown away!”

  
2D looked offended. “It is no such thing! These projects are sacred. I did them when I was a camper too.”

  
“They’re severely outdated too then.”

  
2D sighed, wanting to get this over with so that he could go back to happily awaiting Murdoc’s arrival.

  
“Please, Max, cooperate today. Murdoc Campbell is coming and I want to show him that everything is going okay. I want to impress him with how well we are doing!” 2D begged.

  
“Why do you want to impress him anyway?” Max asked.

  
“Well, he made my camp experience great, so I want him to know that I can make you kids have fun too.”

  
“But you suck at that.”

  
“Maaaax.”

  
“I still don’t understand why you like him so much! Isn’t he the one that ruined your face? How did he make your ‘camp experience’ great if he almost killed you? I don’t understand why you’re so happy all the time when you’ve had the worst luck at this camp than anyone else I know!”

  
2D’s smile faltered, but it quickly returned to its normal wideness. It was true that Murdoc had hurt him. He was just a young boy at the camp when it happened. He had been playing outside with the other kids, trying to convince them that music camp was just as fun as the other camps there. He was singing a song that his mom had taught him when there was a loud rumble and multiple screams. Pain took over his body as he felt himself go flying backwards.

  
He didn’t remember much after that, but he had been told what had happened many times. Apparently, Murdoc had lost control of the camp’s car and ended up running straight into him. His eyes ended up getting injured, resulting in him having what was called “Hyphema.” He was considered lucky to be alive, but some also said that he was unlucky because of his eyes. Personally, 2D didn’t think it looked as terrible as some people viewed it.

  
Murdoc was punished for the incident, of course. He was in charge of making sure 2D was safe and having fun for the rest of camp. He had to make sure that the injured boy had a great time while he made up for the mistake. He also had to pay for the hospital expenses. As a child, 2D hadn’t understood that Murdoc was being forced to help him. He didn’t even know that Murdoc was the one that had hurt him at first, as he had forgotten what had happened during the incident. It wasn’t until the end of the summer that he learned the truth. It was too late for him to be mad at Murdoc, though. His summer had been so much fun that he just thanked the founder for the great time and left it at that. His parents thought that he was being too forgiving, but 2D didn’t care.

  
And now, here he was, back at the camp as a counselor, working for the guy who caused his face to terrify a lot of people. Luckily, the kids at the camp weren’t as judgemental of his appearance as some adults were elsewhere. Kids just wanted to have fun and make friends. It didn’t matter what somebody looked like.

  
“Sometimes you’ve just got to forgive somebody,” 2D told Max, who was getting annoyed over how quiet the counselor had gotten. “I know that it’s hard, and that it doesn’t make sense in my situation, but a lot has happened since then.”

  
Max groaned, thinking that 2D was being stupid. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

  
2D shook his head, smile still in place. “Come on, let’s go back to the mess hall.”

  
Once 2D made sure that Max was safely back with his friends in the mess hall, he started to walk around the room, curious to see all of the creations the campers have made.

  
“That looks great!” 2D complimented Space Kid, who had managed to create...something. Honestly, it looked like a mess, but he was informed that it was supposed to be the solar system. 2D smiled, going along with it.

  
“Hey, 2D,” Noodle’s voice called out to him. “Come here for a second.”

  
2D noticed the frown on Noodle’s face as he approached her. “Yeah, what can I help you with?”

  
“Are you sure that Murdoc is even coming?” Noodle whispered so that the kids could not hear. The campers couldn’t care less about whether or not Murdoc was coming, but she still didn’t want them hearing their conversation. “It’s already two in the afternoon. Don’t you think that he would have been here by now if he was actually coming?”

  
2D’s heart sank as he took in her words, but he had to stay strong. He had to believe that his hero was going to show up. “I’m sure that he’ll be here. He probably wants to witness what goes on during our evening activities.”

  
“Whatever you say,” Noodle gave up, knowing that if she tried to convince him not to get his hopes up that he’ll just get defensive, and then get his hopes up even more. “Arts and crafts time is almost over. Why don’t you take the children out to do something fun by the lake?”

  
“What are you going to do?” 2D asked.

  
“Me? Something very important! But it’s a secret, so I can’t tell you.”

  
Yeah right, 2D knew that she was sneaking off to go watch some TV. He wanted to ask her to stay, but he let her go. He could handle this. He would get these kids to finally have some fun!

  
“This is not fun,” Max said.

  
“What do you mean?” Nikki disagreed, “This is wild!”

  
At least Nikki liked most of the activities 2D prepared.

  
2D thought that having the kids do a scavenger hunt would be fun. It let the kids find the objects in their own ways. Nikki saw it as one huge adventure. Neil used some scientific methods to predict where he could find the items on the list of things to find. Space Kid pretended that he was trying to find objects from a new space colony. The theater and magic kids used it as a way to practice acting or making the things they found disappear.  
Then there was Max, who opted to sit out. He found the whole thing a waste of his time.

  
“It’s a game, Max!” 2D exclaimed. “It’s supposed to be fun!”

  
“I don’t see the point,” Max told him. “Why should I go find some worthless objects? So that I can win the game? There’s no prize, so it’s not worth it.”

  
2D knew that there was no way he was going to convince Max to play. He let him sit below a nearby tree to pout. He turned his attention to Nikki, who had come back with her bag full of items.

  
“That was really fast!” 2D praised her. “You’re really good at finding things!”

  
Looking into her bag, he found that not a single item was from the list of what the campers were supposed to find. He gave her the news, to which she replied that she already knew. She just liked to find everything. Soon, she was on her way with her bag now empty, having dumped the insides on a picnic table.

  
By the time it was five o’clock, they had a winner. Even though she came back multiple times with bags full of other items, Nikki found all of the things on the list before anyone else. The others were baffled when they found out.

  
“You would make a great Hufflepuff,” 2D said.

  
Nikki grinned. “Thanks!”

  
As she walked away with her friends, she could be heard asking them what a Hufflepuff was. Neil explained it to her, surprised that she hadn’t known since she had made Harry Potter references before.

  
Dinner time came around quicker than 2D anticipated. Throughout the day, he had been looking around for any signs of Murdoc. He even demanded Russel, the quartermaster, to come find him if he saw Murdoc anywhere.

  
“I don’t think he’s coming,” Noodle, who came back halfway through dinner, said.

  
“But he said that he would be here,” 2D protested, not ready to accept that he wasn’t going to get to see the man he looked up to.

  
“Murdoc lies to us all the time. We never know where he is and he doesn’t ever tell us what is going on. We’ve been on our own here since we got the job. Murdoc doesn’t seem to actually care about this place. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s off gambling instead of somewhere important.”

  
The smile on 2D’s face finally fell. Noodle, and a few of the campers who saw it leave, were shocked. Nothing ever got to 2D, yet here he was, looking more exhausted than anyone had ever seen him before. And for what? Because the man he wrongfully idolized never showed up? It was heartbreaking to see such an optimistic man so shattered.

  
“He broke!” Max shouted, feeling many different emotions. He was delighted because all he ever wanted was to see 2D genuinely frown, disappointed because it wasn’t him that caused him to frown, and scared because who knew what would happen with 2D feeling as down as he did. His dreams of Murdoc coming and caring for the camp were shattered. Max knew that that was the worst thing to ever happen to the counselor.

  
“You’re right,” 2D cried with broken words. “He’s not coming. He wasn’t planning on coming. He doesn’t care for this place at all. All he cares about is money and whatever else he does when he’s away! I bet he even cheated to become president of Thailand!”

  
“He definitely cheated to become president of Thailand,” Noodle muttered.

  
2D couldn’t go on. He felt crushed. Having his childhood hero let him down felt terrible. It made him view the man in a new, terrible light. He wished that that light had never turned on. Slowly, he turned around and left the sight, leaving the campers to Noodle. He didn’t want to deal with anyone right now.

  
Max looked around at the other kids. He sighed, realizing that the camp would be worse with a depressed 2D. “We’ve got to fix this, don’t we?”

  
Noodle nodded at him.

  
“Ugh, I was afraid you would say...err...do that.”

  
...

  
The next day, 2D left his cabin with a blank look on his face. He really wanted to gather some determination so that he could still make camp fun, but he wasn’t feeling it that day. He was still upset over the events from yesterday.

  
When he got to the mess hall, he was in for a surprise.

  
“What is going on?” 2D asked. All of the campers were gathered in front of the building. A few FBI members were also standing off to the side, obviously hiding something behind them.

  
“We’re doing something,” Max paused, shuddering, “ _nice._ ”

  
“Yesterday was a disappointment for you,” Noodle started to explain. “I know that I’ll never understand why you put Murdoc so high up, but it doesn’t change the fact that you do. Him not showing up really hurt you, and the pain that came with that for you won’t be good for the camp.”

  
“Are you...Are you _firing me?_ ” 2D froze, scared.

  
“Of course not!” Noodle groaned, not wanting to deal with 2D’s stupidity. “Max did say that we are doing something nice, remember?”

  
“Just cut to the chase!” Russel growled, swinging his hooked hand forward in annoyance.

  
“Right,” Noodle said. She turned towards the FBI members and asked them to reveal what they were hiding.

  
2D gasped. “Murdoc Campbell?”

  
Murdoc was sitting on a bench, his hands cuffed. The look on his face was plain murderous, but it seemed to soften a little bit when he saw 2D.

  
“Murdoc actually got captured,” Noodle said. “He’s going to be spending a lot of time in jail, apparently.”

  
2D felt himself getting really upset. “But what about the camp? He’s in charge, so will it get closed down?”

  
“I’m not in charge any longer,” Murdoc spoke up.

  
“What do you mean?”

  
Murdoc rolled his eyes. “I mean that I signed away the rights to the place!”

  
“...To who?”

  
“To you!”

  
2D was shocked. “To...To me?”

  
Noodle smiled at 2D. “This camp is a tragic mess, but I’ve been told that if you are able to fix up the place to make it safe then you can be in charge. We all know that you love this place more than anyone else in the world.”

  
2D felt like he was going to cry. He wanted to run over and give Murdoc a hug, especially since he was handcuffed and wouldn’t be able to punch him, but he was stopped by the FBI members.

  
“Thank you sir,” 2D gratefully said instead. “This means a lot to me.”

  
“It’s not like I had a choice,” Murdoc muttered, but luckily 2D didn’t hear him.

  
Once that was all over, the FBI dragged Murdoc back to the car. He was pushed into the backseat forcibly.

  
“I’ll come visit you in jail!” 2D yelled.

  
“Whatever!” Murdoc responded, secretly glad that he would have someone to look forward to talking to while he was in that miserable prison, even if that person was 2D.

  
The car drove away, and that was the last time Camp Campbell saw Mr.Campbell.

  
“So are you going to change the name of the camp?” Max asked him. “This name sucks.”

  
“Yeah, I’ll probably have to. This camp has a bad reputation now, so a new name would be best,” 2D said. He grinned as he turned to the campers. “Oh, and I knew that you all secretly cared!”

  
“Don’t let this get to you,” Max threatened, “We just didn’t want to deal with you being sad for the rest of the summer.”

  
2D kept on grinning anyway.

  
...

  
Renovations were made rapidly at the campsite. There were now comfortable cabins to sleep in, as well as nice tents for them to use on clear nights. The mess hall was redesigned, the dock by the lake was made safer, and much more was added. They still kept the theme of being a camp of camps, but now each section of the camp had better equipment to use. The brochures honestly advertised what would be expected at the camp. It was a thousand times better than it was before.

  
“I still hate this place,” Max said.

  
“Of course you do,” 2D replied. “And yet, you came back for another year.”

  
Max groaned, trying to explain that it was his parents’ fault that he was back. However, 2D knew the truth. Max’s parents had told him about how much Max talked about the place, and 2D, when they were signing him up again.

  
“Now, how about we go build a bonfire and sing some campfire songs!” 2D suggested. A loud groan came from some of the campers, but 2D was ecstatic to hear a few of the new members cheering.

 

They really didn’t know what was about to hit them.


End file.
